Automatically operating gold placer gravel concentrating and gold saving device



2 Sheets-Sheet l m w 0 7 O G n a June 27, 1933.

AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING GOLD PLACER GRAVEL CONCENTRATING AND GOLD SAVING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. D. GOODY AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING GOLD PLACER GRAVEL CONCENTRATING AND GOLD SAVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 7, 1930 June 27, 1933.

. standing on one or opposite sides Patented June 27, 1933 fomrsef STATES PA ENT OFFICE ronns'r n. GoonY, or DENVER, COLORADO AUTOMATICALLY ,orEnAT iG corn PLACER eRAvEL :CONGENTRATING -AND GOLD SAVING niivion 7 Application filed. January 7,1930. Serial No. 419,042.

tion, andthat is so constructed that the gold .16 in the gravel'is separated fromfthe gravel in the hopper that is larger than the mesh of its screens and falls through. the meshes of its screens into the gold saving sluice box or boxes below it, and that at the same time also, separates'and'sc reens the gold in the gravel as the, gravel'runs down the "opposite downwardly and inwardly converging sides of the hopper and' guides the gold thus separated from the gravel" down into the i5 sluice box below it, the hopper separating I the gold in the gravel at the time the gravel is traveling through it, in addition to separating the large rocks and all of the coarse pebbles in the placer 'gravel'that is larger than'the mesh of screens used in the hopper.

Second, to provide a simple and inexpensive hopper member for sluice boxes that is especially adapted to have placer gravel shoveled into it by one of two placer miners of it and the sluice box members. T

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated inthe which: i

Fig. 1 is a side view-of the improved plac or gravel concentratingand gold saving apparatus, including a motor operated pump for supplying wash water to the hopper which receives the placer material; .3 Fig. 2' is a plan view'thereof.

accompanying drawings in Fig-8 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view of the'improved form of feed hopper to which the placer material is sup plied. I 59 Fig. 4 is a plan View thereof, a portion of the bottom screen being side screens being omitted. c

Fig. 5 is a'vertical transverse sectional view of the hopper.

Fig.6 is a rear end view of a portion of the apparatus, showing more particularly removed and the the manner of adjustab-ly supporting the rear end of the hopper. p 4

Fig. 7 is a detail front view, showing adjustable extensions for the front legs of the supporting frame of the apparatus.

' Fig. 8 is'a vertical transverse sectional view of a modified form of the feed hopper, the" same being made of sheet netal, and having a curved bottom and curved bottom. screen, and v Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view through the sluice box.

v Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views. Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a sluice-box supporting frame, which is so designed that the sluice-box or boxes that are supported by it can be raisedv or lowered and inclined at any. predetermined downward angle to allow placer gravel and sand and water to' run through it, at the speed that is found to best allow the gold to settle out of the gravel and sand into the gold catching fabric in the bottom of the sluicebox, or boxes,'as this sluice-box supporting frame is made wide enough to support one wide sluice-box or one narrow sluice-boxer two sluice-boxes, side by side.

This sluice-box supporting frame is constructed of strips of light dimension lumber or light weight s tructural iron or steel. The construction consists of the vertical standards 2, of which there are four, and the longitudi nal connecting pieces 3, along the opposite sides of the vertical standards '2, and the transverse end pieces e and 4A, upon which the sluice-box or boxes 5,]rest. All'of these. pieces of the supporting 'frame are detachably secured together bybolts and nuts so that they can bequiclily taken apart and stacked together in a bundle for transportation in an auto-truck or on a wagon of any 'kind, but when assembled together in'sluice-boX supporting condition their lower ends rest on the ground, or if preferred on a flat rock, or a pllank, no special foundation being needed for tiem. i

The standards are provided with vertic'al slots 6, and the opposite ends of the transverse pieces 3, areproyided with bolts7, which extend into andtlirough these slots, and their endsarethreaderh-and butterfly nuts 8, are threaded to them, and arranged to clamp the standards to the opposite ends 'of the transverse sluice-box supporting pieces of the sluice-box supportingframe." As the sluice box rests on these transverse pieces'at its opposite end ortionspand as it is inclined downwardly i i'om the end of it into which the placer ground is fed,=these transverse pieces are raised orlowered in the standards until the sluice box stands at thedesired inclination, and they are then clamped tightly to the standards at that point-intheirhei'ght.

- One or two sluice-boxes .5, are placed on the transverse pieces, 4 and I 4A, and they may be secured to them if desired; but they; do not need to be, and-it is only necessary toprevent it from slipping downwardly on them, and this may be.,accomplishedby any" suitable means, such asby'securinga, cleat of wood 9, on the bottom of the sluice-box up against the cross piecesiand tA. 1., A I The sluice-box as 1 illustrate itinmypresent invention is stationary, that is, it isipreferably not vibrated or reciprocated, but it may be if desired, attachingto and arranging it; as, shown in my Patent? No. 1,7 52,169, granted March 23, 1930, for an auto.- matically operating apparatus for catching and eoncentratinggold, etc.- I a The sluice-boxer boxes I preferably use are narrow boxes as usedinmy present invention. They are preferably made of one inch planed lumber, and are preferably about twelve inches wideon the bottomlO, and are about ten inches wideinside of the opposite sides 11, of the sluice-boxes; which are about four inches highfabove the floor 12, of the bottom insidethesluice-box. The upper end 13, of

the' sluice-box is closed by a cross piece .of

i 1 Inside of thezsluice-box,Lplace down. on

board 14, the construction being similar to that illustrated in. my Patent No. 1,588,102,

issuedto ,me Junef8, 1926. r

and against the .bottom ,of "it: any suitablegold-catching fabric or material, or. fabrics and materials, 15 in asingle layerorin more 1 than one layer, a'nd ontop, of the gold-catch ing fabricI placea screen-16,which may be a crosswire screen,-or ;a punched platescreen,

or anypther kind ,or typeof screen that will l act to arrestand check the downwardflowing movement of the goldparticles in the gravel and sand as they flow through rthe sluice-box,

different" types of whieh'are illustrated in myabove mentionedPatent No.,1,752,169.

The screen,- or screens, as there maybe one or two, or more, on top of each other, as

. ent invention, is pressed shown in above mentioned patent, al-

though I preferably use onliy one in my presgold-catching fabric tight enough to make a bearing contact against its gold-catching surface. The. screen 'is held in that position wn against the by narrow wooden cleats, preferably in the form of half round strips 16A,.which are secured to the opposite sides of the sluicebox by small nails that are easily and uick- .lywithdrztwn so as to easily andquic y remove the cleats when it is desired to remove the screen and the gold-catching fabric in the bottom of the sluice-box In my present invention the'placer gravel and sand and water feed into the upper end 1-3, ofthe sluice-box 5, through a hopper 19',

whiclrrests at its lower end byvmeans of a .ever, I secure the hopper to cross P1868 17, which is securedtothe standards by an iron strapi 18 of U-shape, which is provided with aperturesgl8 at. short distancesapart, and

the; strapyissecured atiitscenter to theoutside under closed end of the hopper? and its ends arehplaced loosely and removably. over pins;19, which are secured to the crosspieoe :17, so thatith'e upper end of thehopper can be raisedi and lowered by the. operator to give to the bottom of the hopper a discharging angle for the gravel which is too coarse to pass through the mesh of the screens used in the bottom, and on the opposite sides of it, which will best suit the sized rocks and. pebbles in thegra'velhe isxto run through it. Because .my present gold-saving device is a portable machine, one miner has small-sized pebble gravel to run through it and another miner has large pebble and rock gravel to run through it. i l I While the'hopper'canbe made any practical length, I preferably make it about three ft. longon: its bottom and three and a-half ft;

. long on'itstopedges, by about eighteen inches, high at its upper end" and by about twenty inches wide at its upper open end inside its opposite sides andsloping downwardly and inwardly to a closed bottom portion 19A, of preferably about four inches wide inside at its discharge end. andaboutsixihches wide at the headend of thehopper, as the hopper is'made wider atits gravel receiving end and tapers smaller to its discharge end.

The hopper, as illustrated in Figures land 2, is made a of wooden boards, but it may be madeofsheetironfor steel as-shown in Figure8. It is provided witha liood member 20, which extends high enough above its side edges and. forwardly far enough-to receive covered with, screens 24, whichextend downward at a more-inward angle so thatat their lower edges. which extend'to the opposite 's1de edges of the bottom screen theystand at about an inch awa from the sides. of. the ho er. Y Y I Ihus a tapermgand narrowlng. space for the placer gravel and sand and gold which'flows through GilCll'SICl-S'SCYGGH isformed from the upper edges of these screens to their bottom edges where they are secured against half round strips of wood which'rest on thehalf rou'nd strip's 23,011 which the 'screen 22 rests. The Stllps'Qt A, are secured by any suitable means against the sides of the h opper, and the gravel and sand and thegold and other metals which pass through these side screens collect'on top of. these half round strips of wood, andin, order that the gravel and sand and the gold and other metals'ma-y move down past them onto the bottom portion of the hopper; I. provide the frontssides of both ofxthe' strips '23 and 24 lrwith deep grooves 24 B, that extend down through them, and while these'gro'oves 24 B, can be made to extend down through 'thesetwohalf round strips" in a. straight line, I preferablyv arrange {them at a; forwardly and downwardly inclined angleas shown inwlTigurel. Consequently these side screens collect, gold, and othermetals and 1 6.18 conveyed from their low-er endsdown into the bottom space 24: C,

of the hopper onto its 'fioorQ D, independentlyof' the screen 22, in the bottom of the hopper, and th e pebbles and-the rocks of the gravel which aretoo coarse to. pass through the screens in the bottom and sides of the hopperare'washed out ofv the lower endizof the hopper into a chute 25, WlllClllIlS removably secured to its endbyany suitable means,

which extends over'one side of the sluice-box and conveys and" discharges the over-size gravelas worked over waste gravel; also the screened gravel carryingrthe: gold and other metals which flows'from the hopperinto the sluice-box is washed through the sluice-box and in fi owingthrough it the gold and platinum and 'other'metals sink down through it and through the meshesof: the screen on top of it into the fabric in the bottom of the sluice-box and is saved by beingconcentrated therein. After the fabric is well filled with gold andother metals the fabric isremoved and the gold and other metals are washedout of it. It isthen replaced in the bottom of the sluiceebox. The othermetals most generally foundin placer gravel are platiniun washing them out ofthe fabric by hand panning. The gold can also berecovered by it self and the platinum by itself, separate'from the gold and from the black sand by chemical or smelting processes.

The screens that I use in the bottom and on the sides of the hopper are cross wire or punched plate screens, and they are notwhat 3 5 are known. as grizzlyscreens as this -character of screen will not work satisfactorily over my sluice-box. The cross Wire or punched screen that I use may be of any-size. mesh from the finestthat it is-practicalto use for screening placer gravel, to a mesh as large as one and a half inches, the size of the mesh or holes in the screen depending on" the fineness or the coarseness of the gold in the gravel; for instance,- for gravel consisting of small pebbles and sand containing finegold that will; pass through a sixty mesh screen andcontain gold as fine as flour. I would use a screen preferably of a quarter? inch mesh, either a cross wire screen or a @5 punched plate, of which there are several kinds'illustrated in my patent above referred to, but a littlefineror coarser screen can be 7 used if conditions require it.

At the present time I am usinglaone' inch 39 mesh screenin one of these machines that I have set up and am treating placer gravel, that is,,coarse gravel containing quite largerocks on a placer bar that containsmedium coarse gold that is of a fiat thin'fiakeychar- @2 acter, in which there is only a little gold,

And at another placerbar I am usingya number one-half inch mesh screen in one 1 of these machines extracting gold from. gravel and sand that is very much liner than the i3 coarse gravel just mentioned, and extracting gold from it that is fine gold some" of 'it bein yvery fine down to fiourgold and with onlycecasionally a few small coarsepieces' ofnugget form of. gold in .it. I I i .If, however, the placer gravel contains gold, some ofwhich will go through a quarter inch screen but will not go through a threesixteenthinch screen, I would prefer to use'a screen of one-half inch mesh. Then again if the placer gravel contains nuggets up to about one-half to three-quartersinch in size occasionally I would use a screen of one inch to one and a half inch meshed-spending on the size of-the r'ocksin the gravel.

. At the lower discharge-endof the hopper I place a down-spout A, adjoining the skid 21,,which rests on the uppen edges'of the side boardsof the-sluice-box, and "fllljof the-gravel and sand "and platinum and-gold andother 'metals that pass-down throughthe holes'onmesh'es of the screens'with the water drepqdown' onto this bottomportionQ iC of the hopper-and run down-it mt-o the downspoutand through it-into the head endg'ofqthe sluice-box;

"A ater supply under sufiicientpres'sure to disintegrate and to cforce "the' firmly pressed together sand,';mud and fine pebbles andfito wash off-"the larger pebbles andfthe rocks that; are in the gravel, and, directed to there from the hopper u under the hood, ordischarged redg'ing machinery. t 7 And whilemy invention contemplates any kind or character of water pressure supply for washing the gravel thoroughly while 'it is inthe 'hopperfiandffor washingitout of the -hopper; I; preferably provide a' ,small a power and fa light-weight portable water,

pumpin v I V noz'z es prefertouse to wash the gravel and to furnish the water to wash the screened gravellan'd vsandthrough the sluice-box after ithas been screened from the'coarse gravel 'and'rocks in the'hopper. The'pui'npingand water supplying appar'atus 'l preferably provide with'my gold-save ing'dev'ice consistsof a gasoline engine 26,

with its electrical equipment and a pump 27, belt connected to "and "driven by the engine, which is-shown adjacent va water provided sump" hole 28A, and the water delivery pipe line 99, U and the nozzles 30' and 31, "I preferably'use two nozzles and injorder to se-. curethe required pressure I preferably use a smaller size pipe than the water conveying pipe forthenozzles 30 and 31, and place the second nozzle under the upper nozzle, as

I shown, and]; preferably placeand' support the water conveying pipe and the nozzles over the top of the sluice-box and parallel to it,- and' place the discharge ends of the nozzles at adistanc'e from 'thecenter' of the bottom of the hopper so that the (water as itis discharged f-rom the end of the upper nozzle w'ill strike the bottom screenand also: the side screens to the fullheightof/ the under side of .thehood and the full area of they head end portion of thelhopper, so thatlthe lower nozzle will strike the bottom screen ofthehopper below whereftheiupper nozzles strikesiit, and thesetwo streams of water should. have pressure enough tofcheck and ho'ldfthe gravel'backin the hopper and disintegrateifi and wash it clean of any gold particles that may be clinging to it. That plant, with the water discharging part of itsmaller than the meshes of the screens is washed through, and the oversize gravel is washed outgof thehopper, and in actual, practical use my gold savingdevice with the water supply under pressure and'discharged inthe hopper, as illustrated,

accomplishes that in a very few seconds of 7 time, after the gravelis shoveled byhand into it, or isdischarged into it by dredging machinery, wi y g r I The gasoline engine can be as small as a one and one-halfhorse power, and'th'e pump can beeither a one and a one-half inch rotary or centrifugal pump and theweight ofit, and the expense of theentire pumping equipment, is small and it is. easilytranspo af'rom oneplacer toanother, or fromone'part of'a placerbar to' another part of it.

The oversizedischarging' chute 25, is made tobe changed toidischarge over either one side or the other of the sluice-box. -It,is ;se-V

cured .at one end tothe screen and a. slide .block 21 is secured to the front endflof the hopperand rests crosswise on top of the side boards of L sluiceabox-and can be "quickly changed over from one side of the sluice-box to its opposite side, and the sliding block allows it to be moved outward away from the sicleof theasluice box a few inches. This arrangement allows; the dischargin oversize a larger area in which to sprea out as it discharges into a larger pile, or into a conveying-apparatuswhich would convey and discharge it at some distance away from the gold saving device. I

Theo eration of my automatically operating go (1 saving device is as follows:

When the water isturned'on and is dischargingwith forceinto the hopper, either onevor twomen, standing on either one or both sides of it, can shovel placer gold carrying gravelzinto the hopper up against its head end and'under its hood, as fastflas they can, and the water will wash the gold out bf :it, and from ofl'T of its rocksand pebbles, and

it will be carried with the fine gravel and water through the screens and will flow with theminto the sluice box where it settles down out of the fine gravel and waterinto the fabric in the bottomof the sluice-box andis .saved.

Thesandand fine pebbles that run throu h the sluice-box run towaste while then s andpebble'sflof the gr'avelwhich are too large to flow through the meshes of the screens flow out of the ho per through the chute,

Twomen can, however, shovel from forty to fifty yards of gravelinto the hopper inia day where the conditions are favorable for steady work, and from three to four times that many machinery.

yards if the'gravel is fed to it by My invention is 'especi'ally'adapted for placer mi'ners' who de'sire a machine that can beeasily and quickl'y'mov'ed' around, and one which is'simple in construction and whose vital parts are easily andquickly reached forcleaning and in which the gold it-saves is easily and quickly removed from it. \Vhil'e I have illustratedand described the preferred construction andfarrangementbf my gold savingv device I do not wish to'be limited to'the construction and arrangement shown as changes may be made in it withoutdeparb in'gfrom the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is: r

1. A gold saving device of the type having a supporting frame, andgold saving sluice box operatively supported in said frame coinprisin in combination a V-shaped hopper suspended at the upper placer gravel receiving end fromsaid frame and'having a discharging spout secured on the placer gravel receiving end of the sluice box, said hopper having a closed bottom floor member leading to said spout, a screeningmember across the bottom portion of saidhopper, the screenings from "which drop onto the floor of said hopper,

said hopper being provided with screens provided with strips on its oppositesides positioned at a sufficient distance from the surface of said side members to allow the screen gravel and gold to flow down between the removable pro ect1ng strip members arranged to support the opposite side edges of said cross screen and the lower edges of said side screens said supporting strips being pro vided with recesses'extending downwards through them to allow the screened'gravel and gold to flow down through them onto the floor of said hopper, said grooves being extended down through said screen supporting strips at a forwardly and downwardly inclined angle from the space between the side screens and the sides ofthe hopper into the space below the bottom cross screen to the floor of the hopper, said supporting frame being provided at the head end of the hopper the hopperhaving a closed bottom floor memberleading to said spout, a screening member across the bottom portion of said hopper, the screenings from which drop onto the floor of said hopper, said hopper being provided with screens on its opposite sides, po-

sitioned at a s'uflicie'nt distance from the surface of said members to allow-the screen gravel and gold'to flow down between, removable projecting strip :members arranged to hopper arranged thereon to confine the gravel discharged into it from shovels or dredges against being washed outof it, meansincluding nozzles arrangedto discharge water un-. der pressure enough to wash gravel clean and out of said hopper.

3. In apparatus of the character described, thecombination with an adjustable support, and a sluice box mounted thereon at an inclination to a horizontal plane; of a trough like hopper at the high end of the sluice-box having a skid on the under side of its forward end which rests upon the upper edges of said sluice box, connections on the rear end of said hopper which are adjustably connected to said support, the rear end of said hopper being closed, said hopper being at a greater inclination than the sluice box;

.a screen supported slightly above the bottom of said hopper, screens secured, at their upper edges to the sides of said hopper, and

extending down to the bottom screen, said 1 screens being gradually spaced from the sides of the hopper; a chute extending from the lower end of the hopper and above the sluice box to carry off the oversize material; a

spout in bottom of said chute at its forward end for discharging the screened product into the sluice box, and pipes for delivering water under pressure to said hopper.

4. In a gold saving apparatus of the character described, a trough-hke hopper having a flat narrow bottom of slight depth from which the sides incline outwardly; longitudinal cleats along the inner sides of the hopper a short distance above the bottom thereof, a screen plate supported upon said cleats and longitudinal cleats for holding said screen plate'in place, the lower cleats having spaced grooves which are forwardly pitched; screen plates secured along their upper edges to the sides of the hopper and spaced therefrom and extending down past the inner edges of the upper cleats, a discharge spout on the forward bottom portion of the hopper through which the screened material passes and an oversize chute the end of whieh fextends beneathiencl v cured to the bottom screen. I

v5. A gold saving dem nds the 16pm; ing ar supporting r in combination a V-shape downwar sharplyrond havin a short down spout on its underneath side; time hopper having a floor member formed of aplate screen laoedat a short distancesbove itsbottom oor member; sa'idhopper also being provided p on its. V -shaped sides with screens positioned m s a d' a' g l v 5 sluice box operatively supported comprising d, downwardly' ine clined hopper, vertically adjustable in said supportin frame; said jhopper sloping.

atlshort ilistance fi'om the sides of thehopper to form ass between the side scrwns and the sides of (the hopper, whereby the screened gold iand-g-gravel passing through the meshes 

